Neither is universally 'greener.' The honest answer depends on trips, hygiene, weight and what happens at end-of-life.
The plastic-versus-wood debate gets tribal fast, but the truth is refreshingly boring: it depends. Both can be excellent, sustainable choices — and both can be wasteful if used wrong.
Wood wins on repairability, lower upfront cost, and the fact that it's a renewable, recyclable material with a mature reclaim stream. It's the right answer for the vast majority of one-way and regional freight.
Plastic wins on hygiene, weather resistance, consistent weight and very long service life in tightly controlled closed loops — think pharma, food processing and automated systems where a snagged board is a real problem.
End-of-life is the deciding factor people forget. Wood reclaims into mulch, bedding and biomass; plastic must be ground and re-pelletized to avoid becoming landfill. We run both streams so neither material is wasted.
Our advice: match the platform to the trip, not to the trend. We'll happily talk you out of the more expensive option if it isn't the right one.
Reuse beats replace almost every time — for your budget and the planet. When in doubt, ask us to spec it.